Edwaed davy



- nectedto the levers by the rods ZZ.

EDWARD DAVY, ou oannifixiu',l ENGLANn,

IMPROVEMENT 'in MAcHnNER'Y Fon PREPA-1Rl-NGHEMP AND Fil-LMI-l I Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. dibl, dated March'lll, 1856.

To laf/ZZ whom, tjmay concern:

Beit known that I, EDWARD Davy, of Crediton', inthe county'fof Devon, England, vmanufacturerand'merchana a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented 'or discovered :new and useful 'Improvements in the Prepa- 'ration ofFlax andy Hempgjand I, the said E13-' f -WARQ DAVY, do hereby, declare the nature of :.thesaidqinvention and the manner in which -the same is to be performedfare fully described, -and :ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, reference being had to thedraw-.- ings hereunto annexed and to; the figures and letters marked thereon-.Qthatis to say:

In preparing flax` and' hemp'according tov my invention, .I iirst subject the straw. to a Aeurrent of warm air' toexpel the moisturethere-- yfrom'. I next, when. iine'yarn isrequired to v. 'be produced, cut the straw into threev lengths,

inforder that the-finer and coarserpa'rts of the -eration'of a peculiar constructionl of machine,

which maybe thus described: e

' Figure `l is a longitudinal elevation; Fig; 2,

a plan view of the same; Fig. 3, a long'imdinal-v section, and Fig. 4, an end view. v

a ais the mainv framing ofthe machine.;

f *bi is a feed-apron for carrying the flax-to be `operated upon, up to the first pair of a series Of luted rollers, c e c', `Which turn in bearings inthe framing. The upper Irollers c are pressed down to their Work by means oi screws .03, which pass throughv cross-heads e e and bear against the brasses of the upper rollers. This pressure is,'however, rendered elastic -by the intervention of a coiled spring between lthe cross-head andthe bearing-'nuts ofthe screws d'.

' f j' f are slotted plates set between and behindthe rollers o, These plates f are respectively connected by rodsg to one of theleversh h, which have their f ulcrum'at z', and a vertical reciprocating motion is given to the plates by means of a crank-shaft, k, which is con- It will beseen. thatbehind both the first and the second pair of rollers 'c ca" pair of'platesf is l situated, andthat theplates, which forin pairs,

are `connected to different levers, in order that Whenone plate of the pair rises theother may fall. The object of l"this arrangementwill be presently explained.' -fl be previously stripped of the' seed-bolla) as it passes' from the feed-apron b; is delivered tol 'first 'pair of iluted r'ollersc,l whence-it passes hrough apair of slotted-plates. and

is the 'taken vup bya 4sc :conjdjpavifi',of ilu'ted rrollers;` Y vThese againgpassitthrough another` pair of plates f, and' it is thenftaken Vup b y a third pair jef. iluted rollers ,zand, after passing througlianother plate f,`it.i sdelivered out of the machine by a pair ofgpressing-rollers, r11/m.f During this passage of .the iiax through the machine the flax-stalki-is' broken or brulsed by the rollers'fand scutched'by the reciprocating motionfof the, plates f, which, by' being' Worked 'up and down very rapidly, willjs'ubf' ject the dax. to a kind of rippling action as'the slots of the adjacent plates pass each other, and

thereby disengage the boon or woody part of the plant from the useful iibers. The use-foi the last plate f is' to shakeout the loose particles of boon from the flax. p

In lsome cases, instead of forming theslot of the plateswith smooth edges, Igroove the edges, by which means 'the Bax, willbe'` exposed .to amore searching action, orI may. increase or dirninis'hthe` number of the' reeiprocating plates and iuted rollers, according to' -lthe-degree of scutching to which I may desire to submit the fibers. Motionis communicated to the machine through-a beltl from any first' mover passing round the drivin g-pulley on' the 4shaft This shaft carries a drum or pulley,

from which passes a belt to a pulley, o, carn rihd by a stud projecting from th'e framing,

andv on the boss of this pulley is a pinion',p, which drives acog-Wneel, q, on the axle of one of the iiuted rollers'c.' .From this roller motion isfcommunicated to the other rollers,v and also t'o the feed-apron by suitable gearing, as indicated by the red Acircles in Fig.

. r is abar of hackle-points, which receives mo- [tion by being carried by the rods s', actuatedby the eccentrics or crankst, the axis of which receives motion .by a shaftor band vfrom the axis or shaft k. The object of the hackle-bar The sax-straw, (whiehiwiunot require td is to hackle the material while it is passing l flax and hemp, substantially as herein dcthe rollers c c angl m m. Its use in connccscribed, and combined therewith. tion with the .r'ollers and the reciprocating; 2. The combination of the hackle-bar, (opplate or plates or breakers becomes a matter eratcd as described,) with the .rollers and reof 1lrimch value and importance; l ciprocating breakers or plates.

' aving now described my invention anni x f' T explained the `manner of carrying the same LDXVARD 'DA\ X into effect, I Wish it to be understood that I* XVitnesses:

claimi GEO. PITT,

1. The reciproca-ting'plate or plates f, in 4 Old Sguare,.London. combination with holding o1` retaining rollers H. W.PAYNE, l 4c, for effecting the' sepa-ration of the fibers of 2 George Yard, Lombard Street, London. r 

